Recording water-gage.



No. 68I,536. Patented Aug. 27, IBM. J. P. FRlEZ.

RECORDING WATER GAGE.

(Applioltion filed Aug. 25, 1900.) (In Iodel.) 3 Sheets-Sheet I.

S 1 1 newton Dvibw/am MKW No. 681,536. Patented Aug. 2-7, mm.- J. P.FRIEZ.

RECORDING WATER GAGE.

A m M m. 9a, 1000. (lo lodel.) 3 Shah-Shoot 2.

an unto;

No. 68!,536. Patented Aug. 27, l90l. .I. P. FRIEZ.

RECORDING WATER GAGE.

(Applicltion fllud Aug. 95, .1900.)

3 Sheoh8hut 3.

(No Model.

q/vihmooco rm: mm: PETERS co. PHOTOLIYHO. \HASH mm D c UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.

JULIEN P. FRIEZ, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

RECORDING WATER-GAG E.

SPECIFIJATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 681,536, dated August27, 1901. Application filed August 25, 1900. Serial No. 28,035. (N0modem To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JULIEN P. FRIEZ, a resident of Baltimore, in theState of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRecording ater-Gages;- and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to watergages for measuring and recordingvariations in the depth of liquids either still or flowing, andparticularly in the variation of thedepth of the flowing contents ofrivers, irrigatingditches and sewers, reservoirs, and also of tideWater.

Its objects are to increase the efficiency of such gages and to insureconvenience and safety both in use and in transportation.

The invention consists in the construction herein described and pointedout.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective of the improvedrecording watergage. Fig. 2 is a partial perspective of a covertherefor. Fig. 3 is an end elevation, the cover being denoted by brokenlines. Fig. 4c is a perspective of a pen-stock carrier. Fig. 5 is apartial section showing the connection of the pen-stock with itscarrier. Fig. 6 is a partial side elevation of the carrier andpen-stock. Fig. 7 is a perspective of a pen.

Fig. 8 is a perspective of a detail of the pen- Fig. 9 is a longitudinalsec-I tion of the gage, a clock-mechanism case be- Fig. 10 includesperstock carrier.

in'g shown in full lines. spectives of the details of a spring-heldbearing for a cylinder-journal. Fig. 11 includes perspectives of thebearing for the pen-stockcarrier screw-rod and its coacting guide-rod.Figs. 12 and 13 are respectively edge and.

side elevations of a pencil-holder and holdercarrier. Fig. lat is a viewshowing a clutch to connect the recording-cylinder and one of itsjournals. Fig. 15 is a side elevation of a detail.

In general the instrument comprises clock mechanism, a pen or pencilregularly moved by the clock, and a record-sheet supported on a-cylinderrotatably moved about its axis in either direction by a counterbalancedfloat.

Numeral 1. denotes a base, and 2 the clockcase.

3 denotes a screw-threaded rod having journals in a post 4 and in theclock-case and uniformly rotated byany suitable mechanism in the case,being in the present case driven by a gear 2, meshing with a gear 3fixed on the rod.

5 denotes a pen, 6 a pen-stock, and 7 a penstock carrier. The pen-stockcarrier comprises a part 8, preferably tubular, having a loose orsliding connection with rod 3. It also has a like connection with aguide-rod 9. Between ears 10, fixed to the sliding part of the carrier,is pivoted a section 11, suitably threaded to engage the threads of therotating screw-rod 3. The threaded carrier-section 11 is held to itswork bya spring 12, connecting a stud 13 on the section with a stud 14on the extension 15, forming part of the carrier 8. The threaded section11 of the carrier can be disengaged from rod 3 by depressing the arm 16,whereupon the pen-stock carrier can be freely moved lengthwise the rodfor resetting or other purposes.

16 denotes an interval in the threads of rod 3 to provide for theautomatic arrest of the movement of the carrier lengthwise the rod bybreaking its operative connection with said rod, and thus mediatelybreaking its con-' nection with the clockwork. This interval is a littlelonger than the screw-threaded portion of the section 11, (see Figs. 8,6, and 4,) which section comprises the sole thread connection of thecarrier and rod, so that when said section is adjacent the interval theparts are not operativel y connected and the carrier rests, though themotor continues to run. This avoids injury to the apparatus, which wouldotherwise occur if the observer failed to stop or reset the devicesbefore the motor forced the tube 8 of the carrier against part i. Sincethe operative connection of section 11 and rod 3 can be broken at willby depressing the arm 16, thereby turning section 11 about its pivot 11the construction provides for the convenient and easy adjustment of thepen-carrier lengthwise the cylinder, and since devices to be describedprovide for the adjustment of the cylinder and recordsheetcircumferentiall y the record can be made to start from any desiredpoint on the sheet as required under various conditions.

It has heretofore been proposed to continuously rotate a cylinder andintermittently move lengthwise the same by means of afloat and weight.Myimprovement contemplates an operation continued without inspection fora definite period and then automatically arrested, as is desirable incase the instrument is not inspected or reset at the termination of saidperiod. As the pen is continuously moved until it is arrested, injurymight and would result were no means provided for disconnecting it fromits motor. It is incidental to the improved construction that thediameter of the recording-cylinder and of its case may be considerablyreduced without diminishing the capacity of the instrument.

The pen-stock is supported on a vertical part or post 17 of the carrierextension by means of a disk 18, connected thereto by a screw 19. Athree-armed spring having a central hole 20 to receive the screw 19 isheld on a stud 21 of the disk and bears on the head of the post. Bythese means the penstock is held yieldingly in a vertical plane. 23denotes a similar connection between a disk 25 of the pen-stock andahorizontal disk 24, fixed to disk 18. This provides for a horizontaladjustment of the pen-stock, which is held in a yielding manner upon thedisk 24.

The rods 3 and 9, with the pen-stock carrier, can be detached from themachine by removing the screw 25 which holds the bar 26 upon the top ofthe post 4, whereupon the rods can be withdrawn from their bearing inthe clock-case and also from the carrier, the rods being looselysupported in the clockcase for that purpose. The parts are assembled bya reverse operation.

In Figs. 12 and 13 is shown a pencil holder and carrier which may besubstituted for the pen-stock and carrier when desired. The holder 27 ispivotally supported on a carrierpost 28 between suitable cars.

29 denotes a spring to hold the pencil to its work, and 30 is a nut toadjust the tension of the spring.

The cylinder 31, which carries the recordsheet 32, is moved back andforth byacounterbalanced float 33 to carry the sheet under the penconstantly moved parallel to its axis. The axis of this cylinder hashearings in a part fixed to the clock-case and in posts 34 and 35.

36 denotes a float-counterbalancing weight, and 37 a perforated metalband having one end secured to the float and the other to the weight.The band is operatively connected to a sprocket-wheel 38, having pins39, suitably engaging holes 40 in the band. Cords and driving-pulleysare objectionable, for the reason that the cords expand and contractwith variations of moisture and sprocketchains are rendered inexact bywear if not so made at first. Said sprocket-wheel has its shaft 43journaled in small bracket posts or studs 41 and in the intermediatepost 35. This provision against contraction and expansion of the drivingconnection and against slip is especially important in an apparatusrequiring accurate work and exposed to moisture. Power is transmitted bymeans of a pinion 42 on shaft 43 of the wheel 38. Said pinion drives aspur gear-wheel 44, fixed on the shaft 45.

46 denotes a larger sprocket-wheel, which may be used instead of thewheel 38, if required. As represented in this case, its diameter equalsthat of the cylinder, but it may be given any desired diameter.

47 denotes slots in the base for the free passage of the perforated bandwhich operatively connects the float, weight, and wheel.

48 denotes pulleys employed to spread and guide the band when the smallsprocketwheel is used. To enable said Wheel to be easily disconnectedfrom the gear-wheel 44, the shaft is supported to slide endwise in itsbearings to throw the pinion 42 out of mesh with the wheel 44. A pivotedstop to hold said sliding shaft when adjusted is denoted by 49.

49 indicates a spring to hold the stop engaged in a groove 43 whenpinion 42 is slid out of mesh with wheel 44. Said groove is indicated atthe left of Fig. 9. In said figure the stop 49 is shown covering the endof shaft 43 and holding pinion 42 engaged with gear 44.

The shaft is detachably connected to the cylinder 31 by transverse armshaving pins 51, adapted to engage holes 52 in a disk 53. This disk has ascrew-threaded stud 55, and the disk is held against the cylinder-headby a nut screwing on the inner end of the stud within the cylinder. Thisnut holds an armed spring 54 adjustably against the inner face of thecylinder-head, the spring-arms bearing on said head, and the wholeproviding a detachable connection between the cylinder and the shaft 45.

56 is a spring to hold the pins 51 of the shaftarms 45 engaged withsuitable holes in the disk 53, and 57 is a screw-stop whereby thepressure of the spring can be varied and limited. This constitutes anefficient and easilymanipulated spring-held clutch. The pins can bedisengaged from the openings and moved away from the disk 53 and fromthe cylinder 31, to which the disk is connected, by overcoming saidspring 56. W hen thus disengaged, the shaft 45 can be turned until oneof its arms having a pin 51 is engaged under the head of a screw 57, asshown in Fig. 14. The cylinder 31 can then be readily detached forsubstituting a new record-sheet or for other purposes. The constructionpermits the cylinderto be initially adjusted to bring the record-sheetin suitable relation to the pen. To render the cylinder easy ofapplication to or detachment from the clockcase, an open journal-bearing58 is provided with flaring guides 59.

60 denotes rubber bands to hold the recordsheet on the cylinder.Metallic holders here- IIO tofore employed have proved inconvenient andunnecessarily expensive and those extending lengthwise the cylinderobstruct the pen. Rubber bands avoid these objections and are speciallyadvantageous in application and operation.

61 denotes a milled disk for adjusting the cylinder.

62 is a socket to receive a key for the clock mechanism and is placed onthe face of the clock-case next the cylinder.

63 denotes a glazed inspection-opening in the case.

64 is a short post to receive the sprocketband for transportation orwhen not in use. The band is coiled in a receiver 65, which is placed onthe post.

66 denotes a screw fixed to the post and passing freely through the topof the receiver. The weight 36 has a screw-threaded socket to engagesaid screw and hold the band-receiver upon the base and also secure saidweight thereto.

67 denotes a cover detachably hinged to the base, which is provided witha cover-seat 68 and with loops 69 in the seat to receive the hooks 70,fixed to the cover. Opposite this hinge connection is a hook 71, held ina keeper 72 by a spring-pin 73. The cover-seat is below and exterior tothe upper surface of the base to exclude rain, wind, or dust.

74 denotes a pocket in the cover to receive the float, and 75 is apivoted spring to hold the float in the pocket.

In practice the float having been suitably connected to one of thesprocket-wheels and counterbalanced will be suspended in a well or baysituated in the liquid whose height variations are to be recorded toprotect it from the action of waves, tides, or winds.

The instrument having been suitably arranged and the clock wound to run,preferably for a week at least, the pen (or pencil) will be continuouslymoved along its supporting-rods and the paper transversely moved underthe pen by the counterbalanced float, actuated by changesin theliquid-level, such changes being recorded on a suitably-grad uatedsheet.

I am aware that an automatically-reversible pen-stock carrier has beenoperatively supported upon two parallel screws combined with aguide-bar, one of said screws being positively and the other mediatelydriven by an incased motor. In such construction the positively-drivenscrew had a bevel-gear or pinion situated on its end outside a screw-rodbearing and on its opposite end a gear-wheel also outside a screw-rodbearing, whereby the ready removal of the screwis prevented. In myconstruction the screw 3 has a readilydetachable bearing in themotor-case beyond its gear 3 and the guide-rod 9 has its proximate enddetachably connected to the motorcase, the opposite ends being held inthe bearings by a detachable bar.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1; In a recording water-gage comprising a cylinder actuated by a float,a plurality of power-transmitting wheels of different sizes and havingdifferent shafts and adapted to be operatively connected in alternationwith the float, one of said wheels being adapted to be moved to asituation of rest when the other is in operation, and an adjustable stopfor the movable wheel to hold it either in or out of operativeconnection.

2. In a recording water-gage, a base, a cylinder supported above thebase, a float suspended below the base, a counterbalancing- Weight, aplurality of intermediate cylinderdriving wheels of difierent sizes andseparately operative, a power-transmitting connection, and pulleys inthe base adjacent one of the wheels to guide said connection, said basebeing slotted for shifting the connection without separating it from thefloat.

3. In a recording water gage, a slotted base, a cylinder supported abovethe base, a float suspended below the base, a counterbalancing-weight,aplurality of intermediate cylinder-driving wheels of diiferent sizes andseparately operative, a power-transmitting connection attached to thefloat and weight, and pulleys in the base-slots adjacent one of thewheels to guide said connection and to permit the connection to be movedfrom one driving-wheel to another without separation from the float orweight, the inner proximate edges of such slots being situated in planestangential to one of the wheels.

4. In a recording water-gage, the combination of a pen, a detachablecylinder supporting a record-sheet, devices for moving the pen incontact with and lengthwise the cylinder, a driving-shaft, a clutchcomprising a member carried by said shaft to connect the shaft andcylinder, a movable coacting clutch member bearing on the cylinder-head,and a spring for each member, one of the springs 54 being situatedwithin the cylinder and holding the last-named clutch to thecylinderhead, all substantially as set forth, whereby the cylinder canbe readily detached, or whereby the cylinder and sheet can be adj ustedcircumferentially.

5. In a recording water-gage, a cylinder carrying a record-sheet, apen-stock carrier, a guide-rod for the carrier, a screw for moving thecarrier lengthwise the cylinder, a penstock carrier extension, apen-stock, a disk 18 provided with studs arranged transversely to eachother, springs on the studs, and screws engaged with the studs to holdthe springs one upon the pen-stock and the other upon the carrierextension.

6. In a recording water-gage, the cylinder carrying a record-sheet, thescrew-threaded rod, the guide-rod, the pen-stock carrier having an arm15 freely movable on the guiderod,the carrier-post 17 ,the pen-stockmounted on the post, and mechanism for moving the IIO carrier on therods comprising the swinging arm 16 carrying an openscrew-threadedsection 11'.

7. In a recording water-gage, the cylinder carrying a record-sheet, thescrew-threaded rod, the guide-rod, the pen-stock carrier having an arm15 freely movable on the guide rod ,the carrier-post 17, the pen-stockmounted on the post, mechanism for moving the carrier on the rodscomprising the swinging arm 16 carrying an open screw-threaded section11, said arm being pivoted in the carrier, and the spring to hold thesection engaged with the screw-threaded rod.

8. In a recording water-gage, a movable pen-carrier, a motor foruniformly moving the carrier in one direction, a carrier supporting andmoving screw, a float, a rotatable cylinder, and power transmittingconnections, all substantially as described, whereby the cylinder isturned by the movements of the float, said screw being situated besidethe cylinder and having its thread omitted at 16 at a point immediatelyopposite the cylinder near its end for automatically disconnecting thecarrier from its motor at a predetermined time and bringing said carrierto a state of rest without the arrest of the motor.

9. In a recording Water-gage, a float, a cylinder rotated by the float,a movable pencarrier, a motor for uniformly moving the carrier in onedirection, power-transmitting connections between the motor and thecarrier, and a device to automatically disconnect the carrier from itsmotor at a predetermined time to bring said carrier to a state of restwithout the arrest of said motor.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

J ULIEN P. FRIEZ. Witnesses:

G. W. BALLOCH, BENJ. R. OATLIN.

